Supreme Court Allows the Travel Ban to Take Effect While Litigation Continues
On December 4, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two orders staying the preliminary injunctions issued against President Trump’s September 24, 2017, Presidential Proclamation, or “Travel Ban,” pending disposition of appeals still pending in the courts. The ban restricts nationals of Chad, North Korea, Iran, Libya, Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia from entering the United States. Nationals of these eight countries are subject to the various restrictions contained in the table below, unless eligible for an exemption or waiver.
COUNTRY NONIMMIGRANT VISAS IMMIGRANT/DV
| Chad | No B-1, B-2, and B-1/B-2 visas | No immigrant or diversity visas |
| Iran | No nonimmigrant visas except F, M, and J visas | No immigrant or diversity visas |
| Libya | No B-1, B-2, and B-1/B-2 visas | No immigrant or diversity visas |
| North Korea | No nonimmigrant visas | No immigrant or diversity visas |
| Somalia | No immigrant or diversity visas | |
| Syria | No nonimmigrant visas | No immigrant or diversity visas |
| Venezuela | No B-1, B-2, or B-1/B-2 visas of any kind for officials of the following government agencies: Ministry of the Interior, Justice, and Peace; the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration, and Immigration; the Corps of Scientific Investigations, Judicial and Criminal; the Bolivarian Intelligence Service; and the People’s Power Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and their immediate family. | |
| Yemen | No B-1, B-2, and B-1/B-2 visas | No immigrant or diversity visas |
Additionally, nationals of Iraq will be subject to extra screening measures. Major exemptions to the ban include permanent residents, those who were already in the U.S. or in possession of a valid visa on December 4, dual nationals (when traveling on the alternate passport), A, G, NATO, and C-2 visas, or those already granted asylee or refugee status. The travel ban will remain in effect pending the disposition of the Administration’s appeals of district court rulings to the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Fourth Circuit, and any subsequent review by the Supreme Court.